We were created to take care of, steward the land. That is mankind's purpose on earth, to steward and take care of the land as it feeds off of it.
'Dances with Wolves' really started the movement, using subtitles for Lakota Sioux and showing Indians as interesting, complex people - not just the enemy - and giving a lot of unknown Indian actors work.
National sovereignty can only be achieved after self-sovereignty.
Having watched 'The Lone Ranger,' I asked my dad, 'You think we can be on TV like that guy?' He said, 'Probably not. You have to be 6 feet and blond to work in TV and movies.' I said, 'But what about that guy? Jay Silverheels?'
I'm proud to have served there for 12 months with Alpha Company of the 39th Infantry.
I came from a family that was pretty insularly Cherokee. We kept to ourselves - the white people were there, and we were here, and it was practically a segregated kind of thing.